BLT seeks cleanup at contested site

Elizabeth Kim

Published 9:54 pm, Tuesday, November 27, 2012

With a cease-and-desist order still in effect, Harbor Point developer Building and Land Technology has asked Stamford officials for permission to begin an environmental cleanup of the 14-acre industrial waterfront site that is being proposed as the future headquarters for hedge fund Bridgewater Associates.

The remediation plan being reviewed by the Zoning Board calls for removing contaminated soil in so-called "hot spots" located mostly in the site's northern portion and restoring the areas with clean fill. BLT also seeks to address failing bulkheads around the peninsula by installing sheet pilings.

According to both BLT and the city's Land Use Bureau, the work, which would take at least three months, is only a fraction of the cleanup required before development can occur on the property. Citing contamination along the shoreline, BLT has argued that starting the process now is imperative.

"The work we've proposed to do is necessary for the environment and for stabilizing and making the site safe," said John Freeman, an attorney and spokesman for BLT.

Freeman added that beginning remediation in the winter, when most boats are not in the water, would avoid disrupting a temporary boatyard facility BLT has promised to run on a 2-acre northwest portion of the site. The proposed remediation plan would not affect that area.

Critics, however, have been quick to point out that the preliminary cleanup would allow the developer to get an unfair jumpstart on a yet-to-be-approved $750 million plan to build an 850,000-square-foot headquarters for Bridgewater Associates. Under a deal brokered by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the state, Bridgewater is to receive as much as $115 million for its infrastructure investment and add 1,000 high-level jobs to its current staff of 1,225.

BLT has been asked to meet an aggressive construction timeline. The hedge fund, now based in Westport, is looking to move into its new offices in 2016.

Yet the approval process for the Bridgewater plan, which would remove a longtime water-dependent use from the waterfront, faces several obstacles, including continued protests from boaters. The development site is zoned for a boatyard. Since July, BLT has faced a cease-and-desist order for failing to come up with a plan to replace the boatyard it shuttered and removed last year without zoning approval.

In September, BLT submitted a zoning application to build an alternate boatyard at a 3.5-acre site in Shippan. That plan, which boaters have called inadequate, awaits a review by an independent consultant selected by the city but funded by BLT.

On Monday, Zoning Board members raised questions about the scope of the remediation during a meeting that included an environmental consultant hired by BLT.

"I think a cease-and-desist is a cease-and-desist," said Audrey Cosentini, a board member.

Permitting the developer to start remediating the site, she added, would be "opening the door before we have made any decisions."

Similarly, board member Barry Michelson said he was opposed to any decision that would grant "tacit approval" of the Bridgewater plan.

BLT representatives responded by saying that the remediation process would be the same regardless of whether the site is developed for a commercial or industrial use, such as a boatyard.

Although the ultimate decision rests with the Zoning Board, administration officials have at times tried to steer the board toward accepting the remediation plan. Prior to BLT's appearance, members of the city's corporation counsel had discussed modifying the cease-and-desist order to permit the environmental cleanup to begin.

In a letter sent to the Zoning Board on Monday, Macky McCleary, DEEP deputy commissioner, argued that the interests of the business owner, environment and economic development in this issue are "largely aligned."

Hinting at the Bridgewater project, he added, "This department firmly believes that it is in everyone's best interest to get this site cleaned and back on a healthy property market, generating revenue for municipalities and economic development for the communities that need it."

The letter made no mention of the cease-and-desist order. DEEP officials have avoided commenting on the pre-existing boatyard, which under the state's Coastal Area Management Act was to have been a protected water-dependent use.